"Nine strands? My fire spiritual root's aptitude increased by one strand?"
Lin Changheng's initial shock gave way to delight.
Everyone knew that a person's spiritual roots were ordained by heaven, determined at birth.
This also affirmed the immutable law of this cultivation world-
Without spiritual roots, cultivation was truly impossible! Once spiritual roots were set, they could never change!
But clearly, the existence of the [Origin Cauldron] had broken that law.
Lin Changheng could keep improving his spiritual roots, from inferior roots to Low-Grade Spiritual Root, Middle-Grade Spiritual Root, High-Grade Spiritual Root...
Even earth spiritual roots! Heavenly spiritual roots were not beyond reach either!
With both growing comprehension and improving spiritual roots to support him then-just thinking about it made Lin Changheng feel that his future held promise.
"This extra strand of spiritual root should be related to refining the treasure seed into myself. Could it be that every level of treasure seed I refine into myself adds one strand?"
Soon, Lin Changheng pinpointed the only change and drew a reasonable inference from it.
And this inference would be easy to verify. Once the treasure seed reached its second level, he would immediately know whether it was true or false.
"How much longer will the treasure seed need for Spirit Seizure? Another thirty years?"
Even someone at the ninth level of Qi Refining had a lifespan of only a hundred and thirty years.
How many thirty-year stretches did a person have?
Lin Changheng could not simply sit around waiting.
Without an instruction manual, he had to feel his way forward, gradually uncovering the [Origin Cauldron]'s uses and effects.
"Exhale... inhale..."
After several deep breaths, Lin Changheng pressed all his hopes and delight down into his heart, his expression returning to calm.
"My most pressing task now is to become a ranked Pill Master."
He crawled beneath the bed and retrieved his alchemy notes from a hidden compartment deliberately sprinkled with dust. They recorded the alchemical knowledge he had accumulated over the past ten years.
By the light of the luminous lamp, Lin Changheng began to study and reflect.
As the saying went, learning without thought left one lost; thought without learning left one in peril.
Lin Changheng did well at combining learning with reflection.
He also marveled at how intricate and difficult the alchemy of this cultivation world was.
Unlike what the novels of his previous life described, the procedure alone involved a whole series of stages: kindling the fire, heating the furnace, adding ingredients, cleansing and refining, liquefying, combining medicines, sustained refining, condensing pills, and extracting them.
Each stage had to be performed at a specific moment, with Pill Formula Hand Seals applied according to the precise state of the medicine inside the furnace.
Thus, watching the furnace and tending the fire were also Lin Changheng's main duties as an alchemy apprentice.
When refining first-tier low-grade pills, each stage required twenty to forty Pill Formula Hand Seals, for a total of roughly three hundred!
Moreover, he had to master their timing and sequence while responding to unexpected complications. It could well be called "systems engineering" in a narrow sense.
An hour later.
Lin Changheng rubbed his sore, aching eyes. Though exhausted, he felt deeply gratified.
With [Gift of Insight · General Knowledge] from the First-Tier Origin Treasure Seed, many difficulties that had prevented him from successfully refining pills—things he had never been able to understand before—were now unraveling one by one.
"If I tried refining another batch, at least the furnace wouldn't explode during the medicine-combining stage."
His gaze involuntarily shifted to the old cloth bundle on the table, which he had carried home tucked beneath his arm.
He reached for it and opened it, revealing two charred black lumps of failed pills.
They could not even be called failed pills, since they had no pill shape at all. They were merely masses of paste.
Holding them in his hand, he brought them to his nose. Beneath the acrid smell of scorched medicinal ingredients lingered a faint trace of blood.
That came from the essence blood of a low-tier demon beast called a Fire Crow.
Though its bloodline was of mixed grade, its essence blood could be used to refine several kinds of low-grade fire pills, such as Crimson Flame Pills and Scorching Breath Pellets.
At that thought, Lin Changheng abruptly froze.
At that moment, the [Origin Cauldron], standing quietly within his sea of consciousness, began to tremble softly. Azure radiance rose from its mouth.
"Could it be..."
A thought suddenly appeared in Lin Changheng's mind and refused to be suppressed.
He immediately tried using his will to connect the [Origin Cauldron] with the two failed pills in his palm.
Hum!
Lin Changheng felt an azure light flash through his mind, and something seemed to be stripped from the objects in his hand.
Looking down again, he saw no change in the failed pills. But when he brought them to his nose, the smell of blood had vanished without a trace.
Meanwhile.
At the cauldron's mouth within his sea of consciousness, the illusory image of a crimson treasure seed slowly took shape.
"Just as I thought!"
Overjoyed, Lin Changheng lightly touched it with his will.
[Fire Crow Treasure Seed · Spirit-Seizing Transformation in progress] [Spirit Seizure: 1/100] [Effects: mixed-grade demon beast bloodline, inherently fire-aspected, possessing the innate talents Fire Control, Breath Exhalation, and Beak Strike. Once Spirit Seizure is complete, one may be chosen for refinement into the body.]
Lin Changheng's eyes immediately lit up.
"Demon beast essence blood really works! Even though it's from the lowest-tier, early first-tier demon beast, something extremely common in the wilderness, it can still form a treasure seed!"
"And the Fire Crow has three innate talents: Fire Control, Breath Exhalation, and Beak Strike! For me, Beak Strike is naturally out of the question. Compared with breathing flames, Fire Control suits me best right now! After all, alchemy is the art of controlling fire!"
"With Fire Control in hand, I'll have a better chance of becoming a ranked Pill Master within a year. Not only can I resolve this crisis, I can also earn spirit stones. Then I can use those spirit stones to nourish my cultivation and collect more demon beast essence blood, in greater quantities and varieties..."
This was a closed loop.
A great path uniquely his own, one that could support him step by step toward longevity and immortality!
Lin Changheng's eyes shone.
"Next, I need to collect as much demon beast essence blood as possible."
"Right, spirit stones!"
Following his memories, he rummaged around until he found two translucent, pale crimson spirit stones, searching both the room and his own person.
These were all the savings he had amassed in ten years.
Not long ago, he had paid the annual rent of ten spirit stones for the D-Class Cave Abode where he now lived.
Then there were the medicinal ingredients consumed in his alchemy attempts, the resources needed for daily cultivation, and the regular expense of replenishing his essence blood over the years...
His only income was the apprentice stipend provided by the Xu Family,
So having two left now could even be considered a testament to careful budgeting!
"Simply buying Fire Crow essence blood probably won't be enough. I'll have to find another way..."
Lin Changheng swept his gaze around the shabby room before finally settling on the two black, pasty lumps on the table. His eyes flickered as a plan took shape.
Creak!
He rose and pushed the window open again. Beyond it, the clouds had dispersed and the rain had ceased in the night.
As the night breeze brushed against him, Lin Changheng suddenly realized that the heavy stone pressing against his chest-
Had, without his noticing, turned into moonlight held firmly in his palm.
Early the next morning, Lin Changheng hurried out toward Xu's Elixir Shop.
After last night's rain, the Market Ward's bluestone paving was soaked through, gleaming dimly like a bronze mirror polished by the passing years.
Drops fell from the eaves, tapping the morning mist to pieces.
On both sides, rogue cultivators who had risen early squatted beside the street, tending their sodden stalls. Even their cries sounded a little more languid than usual.
They were all neighbors and reasonably familiar with one another, so quite a few immediately called out for Lin Changheng to take a look at their wares.
"Next time, next time!"
Lin Changheng glanced at the assorted goods on the stalls-talismans and talisman paper, spirit rice and spirit tea, books and jade slips-then hastily waved them off and slipped away in a flash.
It was not that he did not want these things, but that his purse was painfully thin. His remaining spirit stones had to be spent on the blade's edge, where they mattered most.
Cultivators moved quite swiftly on foot, and before long, he entered a two-story shop.
"Brother Lin."
"Brother Lin, you're here early today."
The younger members of the Xu Family doing odd jobs inside the shop immediately greeted Lin Changheng with smiles.
"Yes. You're all early too."
Lin Changheng smiled back.
None of the classic scenes of a ten-year apprentice being looked down on, provoked, or belittled occurred.
For one thing, the Xu Family had quite upright family values,
And for another, Lin Changheng did possess a skill and could work as an apprentice. Lacking aptitude, they could only handle miscellaneous tasks such as cleaning counters, selling pills, fetching supplies, and running errands. They felt more envy toward Lin Changheng than anything else.
He lifted the curtain and had just entered the rear courtyard used for alchemy,
When an elderly voice rang out teasingly,
"Changheng, did you blow up the furnace again last night?"